How’s life in the Denver/Boulder CO area?

SWMBO and I have decided this is the year we finally pack up and leave Wisconsin for somewhere west. We're both lifelong Midwesterners ready for something different, tired of two months of below zero temperatures and feet of snow on the ground. Trying to find somewhere that still has four seasons, but a less extreme winter.

We had initially been looking pretty closely at the Portland, OR/Vancouver, WA area (still are) but it has also emerged that we both have connections in the Denver/Boulder, CO area that could potentially facilitate a smooth employment transition, so we are now evaluating that option as well.

Much like the PNW we are drawn to the idea of cities near mountains, we love living near and working in the city but getting away for hiking/camping/other outdoorsy activities pretty frequently. I went to Denver for a few days as a teenager as part of a trip out that way to go to Pike's Peak for the hill climb, but have not been back as an adult. I do remember some awesome scenery and Denver seeming like a reasonably decent city but not much else.

As far as the "city life", my understanding is that Boulder is cool but breathtakingly expensive, and Denver is less expensive but not as trendy or whatever. I have a friend who lives in Broomfield who says those kind of suburban areas are the best balance of cost of living/access to the cities proper. I know very little about the area as a whole though so I'm curious what the local perspective is.

From a GRM perspective, I get the impression that it would not be worth the headache to bring my E28 and try to get it to pass smog (zero testing in WI for collector vehicles and my car is a no cats/no evap/no EGR relic of Europe in the 80's), so I would probably just sell it before the move and take on a new project afterward. That said, I'm not sure what the motorsports scene is like out there besides the hill climb; here in Wisconsin I'm surprisingly spoiled with Road America, Autobahn, and Blackhawk a stone's throw away and even more within a day's drive. Not expecting that level of choice but I would imagine there are at least a few road courses?

So, what's there to know about living in the Denver/Boulder area?

I thought Denver was full and no one else could move there? 

My brother lives in Broomfield.  I'd characterize it as the same kind of industrial suburbs you'd see in the Dallas area, but with mountain views and a higher likelyhood of having a walk out basement.  

I'd also say that life is too short to spend any more of it than you absolutely have to on I-25, this being based on visiting SIL up in Ft. Collins on a weekend.  Stop and go traffic where during the go part you can get up to 75 mph before you have to stop again-- seems like it's a matter of when, not if you will end up being rear-ended.

So,  not a huge fan.

Karacticus said:

My brother lives in Broomfield.  I'd characterize it as the same kind of industrial suburbs you'd see in the Dallas area, but with mountain views and a higher likelyhood of having a walk out basement.  

I'd also say that life is too short to spend any more of it than you absolutely have to on I-25, this being based on visiting SIL up in Ft. Collins on a weekend.  Stop and go traffic where during the go part you can get up to 75 mph before you have to stop again-- seems like it's a matter of when, not if you will end up being rear-ended.

So,  not a huge fan.

That sounds like traffic in Dallas. 

I wouldn't go to Denver if " less snow" is one of your criteria. According to Google it gets 25 percent more snow than Milwaukee.

From what I've heard it's stupid expensive too.

Portland doesn't really get much snow, housing is still expensive but falling a bit. Riots are a downside

Housing is stupid expensive and scarce. 

Winter days are sunny and snow tends to melt away the next day instead of hanging around till it gets dirty like other Midwestern cities. They plow everything constantly to stay open for business. Lots of homeless people and panhandlers in the City of Denver itself and legalized pot means you smell the stuff all over Downtown. Good skiing is just an hour away. All kinds of winter sports. 

Tracks: You've got High Plains Raceway which is really easy to get time on although it's not exactly in the middle of town. Fun track. When you go a little futher afield, there are tracks in Pueblo, Golden and a couple of others I've forgotten about. There is also some fantastic four wheeling action available, which is a different kind of fun.

Be prepared for more cooling problems (dry air is good for cooling people, bad for cooling cars and thin air is bad for both) and a loss of power (again, cars and people).

Denver is mountain adjacent, not in the mountains. It's really in Kansas but we don't talk about that. This means that there are epic traffic jams on I-70 as the entire population of Denver tries to get into the high country on Friday and then get back into the city on Sunday. I'm usually going the other way and the lineups on Sunday are dramatic. Something to be aware of if the mountains are a big reason for the move. They're a good reason.

Can't comment on the snow, I'm in a totally different climate on my side of the mountains.

There is also ice racing on Georgetown Lake a couple of hours away. 

http://ourgangiceracing.com/

..and the Glenwood Springs Rally that the MG Club puts on every year. I used to help organize that. A long drive in the mountains followed by an autocross and a concours. A really big event. British Car Day in Arvada used to be a big thing when I lived there. Not sure now. 

Antihero (Forum Supporter) said:

I wouldn't go to Denver if " less snow" is one of your criteria. According to Google it gets 25 percent more snow than Milwaukee.

 

From what I've heard it's stupid expensive too.

 

Portland doesn't really get much snow, housing is still expensive but falling a bit. Riots are a downside

Having lived many years in both places, Google is full of e36 m3 on that. 

Yeah maybe more annual inches in Denver, but it melts the next day. In MKE the snow sits, and sits, and sits, and sits. You have fresh beautiful snow in November and then in March the nastiest, grey crud is still sitting around all over the place. 

I'd recommend looking at Utah if you want mountains and seasons, but if you want city life and racetracks i can't in good conscience recommend anything. I dislike the cities in the north of the state.
Can't comment on Denver as I've only seen it at dusk and I didn't even stop for gas. Everything west of it on I70 is utterly gorgeous though. I have a cousin that lives in aspen but I'm afraid that may be off the scale as far as cost of living. 

In general, I would recommend the Rockies though. Idaho is nice, but don't tell anyone I said that. 

Expensive. I just moved from there. Boulder is really 1M+ for a house and Denver proper is in the 600K+ range now. To be honest, I wasn't impressed overall. Their are just too many people shoved in there and the homelessness in Capital Hill and the petty theft has gotten pretty bad. Car and condo break ins and stuff like that. The scene is decent but coming from Austin, I was really disappoint in the scene overall. The bar/patio scene is good and you do have all of the major sports teams there too. 

The proximity to the mountains is nice but the traffic is a B most of the time. 

I don't think I'd move back. 

Unfortunately I grew up in Denver area, and then have only been there sporadically since 2009. Every time I go I'm blown away at how bad traffic has become, and how expensive homes seem to be. 

I'm sure it's me misremembering quite a bit too, but hot dog it would be hard for me to move back. 

OP, the biggest difference I find between Denver and midwest (i've lived in Denver, Chicago, Madison, and MKE) is the community. In the midwest, I feel like every little neighborhood is its own small town, and everyone knows each other. In Denver I have known no such thing. I prefer the community feeling. The second biggest difference is water. In Denver it's a huge focus because there isn't enough. In the midwest we're often pumping it out of our basements. Neither is optimal haha. 

I don't have any insight for Colorado but I'm rooting for you to get out of Wisconsin.  My wife and I just moved from Waukesha to the Greenville,SC area.  It's close to the Smokies, growing fast and housing is pretty cheap down here (for now) compared to Milwaukee Area.

In reply to RacetruckRon :

Yep, my childhood was split between Madison and Waukesha so I know the area well; I've lived within 90 miles of Milwaukee for my entire life so ready for somewhere new, wherever that turns out to be.

I bought a house on the edge of Bay View when the real estate market was in the crapper and when I sell I'll be up almost double, so we should have a nice nest egg to start with wherever we end up going, just trying to figure out where that is.

Those who have described the Midwest snow situation as piles of dirty grey/brown crap that stick around for months are 100% correct. I don't fundamentally hate snow but the way it hangs around and gets grungy in this area is tiresome.

Thanks all for the tips on Colorado so far, keep them coming! 

I'm thinking Reno or Carson City area. Is Nevada a friendly state for residents? Taxes?

I grew up in LA in Portland now (15 years later portland is not much better than Calif.) Housing shortage, homeless overload, union state.

The Reno Carson city area is central to the west coast, a temperate climate, 4 seasons without the brutal winters, don't throw away your snow shovel.

There are a lot of race tracks in a 3 hour radius of Reno, 3.5hrs to San Francisco, surrounded by National forests for miles.

In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :

I don't have first hand knowledge so you are probably right.

This time of year we get the ugly snow you talk about too, horrible.

I can say though that people I've met from Denver and Portland don't speak highly of it at all.

I visited Portland a few years back and wasnt super impressed. Powell's is great, Deschutes was cool and the Zoo was great but......lots of homeless even then, housing was insane and I wouldn't say it was necessarily "weird" in a good way. There is many times more homeless now and the new drug laws don't sound like a good thing.

In reply to Antihero (Forum Supporter) :

I can't comment on Denver as I haven't been in ~15 years, but I used to visit Portland for work and spend a week once every year or so at my prior employer and quite liked it. Took SWMBO out for a week before the pandemic and she loved it as well. It's a known quantity for us, though there is a good chance we would choose to live across the river in Vancouver or out in Gresham or Clackamas if we end up out there.

The homeless problem is very real but we currently live in the most segregated city in America (little known fact about Milwaukee) which has its own issues that don't exactly help you sleep well at night. I'm actually pretty neutral leaning towards curious on the Oregon drug decriminalization as my mother died of a heroin overdose when I was 17, so I have a personal stake involved.

I think most places kinda have their issues at the end of the day and you just pick what you're willing to deal with. In a perfect world we would immigrate to our northern neighbors and settle somewhere in BC but that's probably not a realistic move anytime soon.

In reply to pointofdeparture :

I think out of town is always a good thing, but I live way off in the woods off grid with no neighbors too lol

I personally wouldn't move there but I'd visit again. Especially so since theirs anew Viking themed meadery in town from what I hear

man, I love the crap out of Denver every time I go there.  Makes me sad to hear that it apparently isnt an amazing place to live.  It's on my list of 3 (portland, ME and Whistler, BC are the others)...

Anywhere that is short on water is likely to get worse in the coming years as the climate shifts. In a large population center things might become pretty unpleasant.

golfduke said:

man, I love the crap out of Denver every time I go there.  Makes me sad to hear that it apparently isnt an amazing place to live.  It's on my list of 3 (portland, ME and Whistler, BC are the others)...

That's because you're mostly hearing from people who have either visited or decided to move away for some reason. Only Snowdoggie actually lives (near) there :)

It is ok, but I am glad to have left it behind. There is a reason it is called flyover country...

It isn't expensive or crowded compared to a major city, but also doesn't have the scene or vibe of a true big city. More like they are working on getting there in the next couple decades maybe. Not much for dining unless you count just drinking beer and the art scene is like it aspires to ve Austin. 

The burbs are the same as most of the country; the city ends abruptly and the endless track housing and cookie cutter condos sprawl out. 

Boulder is a bit better because it concentrates the good stuff in a smaller area and the university brings in money and energy. No more expensive than living in a nice area on either coast. 

It is all generally cleaner and safer than most urban areas, but that comes with the feeling of being second or third rate as far as stuff goes. Good Mexican food in general, but never ate at a restaurant that actually made me want to go back there for more.

The mountains are great to get away to occasionally. I love aspen but it is a drive and expensive in general. Scenery can be breathtaking, but eventually you will get tired of the dirt and scrub and then there isn't much else... 

If you like weed that is a bonus, but really many places have legal weed now. The homeless are really just stoner transients that all have bikes, dogs, smartphones and plenty of weed and there are way less than most urban areas. In general the people seemed to be amongst the most smug and self righteous in the country. I think they all moved from small crappy towns and think the have it made by becoming that version of some kind of urbanite?

The weather is generally great. More sunshine and mild days than almost anywhere. The hills and altitude can be challenging but places like Redrock and the river trail are close by if you like the workout challenge. 

Overall, I liked it but didn't love it. Disclaimer, I'm kinda rich and lived in a fancy condo in a great neighborhood and sent my kid to private school. It is probably a great option for many people if you want a taste of city with access to the wilderness but are not up for the ugly reality of big cities and their costs.

I think it really, really matters most as to what you are comparing it to. It is no cultural or intellectual mecca, but it isn't as depressing as like Dallas or st Louis or some place like that. If you are coming from Waukegan, it is an upgrade all around...

And putting up with riots from middle class white college kids in Boulder is just too much. Not such a good place to buy your million dollar mountain mini-mansion. 

https://www.westword.com/news/inside-boulder-hill-party-gone-wrong-11915772

https://www.al.com/news/2021/03/boulder-riot-university-of-colorado-party-leaves-3-injured-unmasked-crowd-clashes-with-police.html

Fwiw, I have visited Portland a lot and like it there. Could definitely live there but I hear it isn't so pleasant lately with the political climate. I dig the food scene there and it is geographically dense enough to have cool stuff near each other.

I probably will never move there, but wouldn't refuse if I have a good reason. Im trying to slow my nomadic lifestyle and put down roots and the west coast wasn't really in my sights for a permanent home.